PBS broadcast Audra McDonald in Concert: Go Back Home for the season finale of Live From Lincoln Center, and it certainly whetted our appetites for this new release by a top-flight singer who recently won her fifth Tony for the revival of Porgy and Bess. It includes classics like Sondheim's "The Glamorous Life" from A Little Night Music; Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Edelweiss"; Comden/Green and Styne's "Make Someone Happy" from Do, Re, Mi; and "First You Dream" from Kander and Ebb's Steel Pier (the CD's stunning title song comes from their musical The Scottsboro Boys). Her program also highlights younger composers such as Zina Goldrich and Marcy Heisler ("Baltimore"), Adam Gwon ("I'll Be Here"), and Michael John LaChiusa ("Virtue" and "Married Love"). "Some Days" has a text by James Baldwin and music by Steve Marzullo, while "Tavern" is based on a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay, with music by Will Reynolds.

"While the record showcases McDonald both backed by lush strings and sparer, bare-bones arrangements, it's her distinctive voice that shines throughout."—WNYC

"One can only marvel at McDonald's pure, sultry voice—think of cool water lapping at the shore on a hot summer day—and the intensity she brings to all her performances."—Opera News